Sandoz to Acquire Oriel Therapeutics

Sandoz has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Oriel Therapeutics, a privately held US pharmaceuticals company, gaining exclusive rights to a portfolio of generic drug candidates and related technologies targeting medicines in the inhalable respiratory drug market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The latter focuses on developing respiratory products with known pathways as generic alternatives to patented drugs for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The acquisition provides the former with three development projects targeting leading medicines in this field. Regulatory approvals of these medicines, if achieved, would enable the former to increase access to affordable, quality therapeutic alternatives for these increasingly prevalent diseases. Details of the latter’s development programs, including anticipated timing of future regulatory submissions, are not disclosed for competitive reasons.

The acquisition of the latter, which will be integrated as a separate development unit within the former, also offers Sandoz access to FreePath drug delivery technology. This has the potential to address some of the hurdles facing regulatory approval of generic inhaled medicines in the US.